


Signing Up

by mrv3000



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-28
Updated: 2008-07-27
Packaged: 2017-10-19 17:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/203325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrv3000/pseuds/mrv3000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new reality sets in for the Doctor and Rose after Journey's End.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to goldy_dollar for betaing, misssimm for Britpicking, and maypanic, morrighangw and principia_coh for their review and input!!

He'd gone from destroying the Daleks, to given a new life in a parallel world, to thinking he was a right bastard (and not even him him, but another him) all in the space of a day. Even he thought it was mad.

The Doctor watched Rose watching the vanishing TARDIS, and "right bastard" crept into his mind again.

 _And now you can do the same for him._ Fix him, in other words. As if the other him was now the picture of health.

Right.

He wasn't sure if it was a Donna bit creeping in, or if it was simply being able to be a third-party witness to his own actions (which didn't happen as much as one might think), but it all seemed a lot clearer now. And if he needed fixing, his other self needed fixing just as much.

He walked up to Rose, taking her hand. And when he looked at her stunned expression, he cursed himself a third time. He knew this had to happen - and knew the reason the other him did it - but it was the _way_ it happened. It had all the carefulness of a rhino crashing through a garden party. Rose turned back to stare at the place where the TARDIS wasn't, but she didn't let go of his hand. At least there was that.

 _We get a taste of that splendour... And then we have to go back._

The Doctor swallowed and Rose continued to stare to nothing. His free hand went to his jacket pocket where he ran his fingers over a rough object, it slightly tingling against his mind. He might have some human bits in him now, but there was still _that_ , which meant there was a good chance he might not be Earth-bound for long.

If there was one thing he had to give himself credit for, it was that. Before they'd landed, the other him had quickly shoved it into his hand without a word. It didn't take his superior intellect to connect the dots from when the other him had said _Dårlig Ulv Stranden_ \- he knew what the plan was. Part of him wanted to warn Rose she was about to be blindsided, but part of him wanted to keep his mouth shut because it meant he'd have her for himself. The selfish part won. So they were _both_ right bastards.

Rose finally sighed. "Well, that's that, isn't it?" she said softly. She let go of his hand and turned to walk after Jackie without so much as a glance in his direction, staring straight ahead.

Not good. So not good.

Two long strides and he caught up with her. He grabbed her hand again, squeezed and gave her a smile. She returned it with a small one, but it soon vanished and she returned to staring into the distance.

Back on the TARDIS there'd been a precious few minutes he'd been able to talk to her after they'd saved the Earth. He'd crushed her into a hug, picking her up off the ground, loving the feel of her in his arms and chiding himself for ever forgetting just how much she seemed to fit there. Rose grinned from ear-to-ear with a "hello, again!" and proceeded to tease him about his blue suit, which he found incredibly funny for some reason. Of course, if she'd started talking about _dirt_ , he still would have been positively giddy.

That was then, and this was now. Now her smile was gone and there was just...shock. He hadn't a clue what to say to her.

 _It's still me, Rose. I swear._

 _So, welcome to the rest of your life. Like the view?_

 _...surrounded by shop store dummies, ooh, such a long time ago..._

 _Ready to give that kiss another go?_

He opted to rub his neck.

Rose hesitantly opened her mouth, started to say something, stopped. He waited. She started again...

"You two!" Jackie yelled. "Hurry along! Pete's arranged a car but we're gonna have to hoof it about a mile. _Supposedly_ no 4-wheels-drives available for the sand. He'll be getting an earful when we get back, believe you me. At least we'll have a plane instead of one of those bloody Zeppelins."

"Oi! Put a sock in it, blondie!" the Doctor yelled at the interruption. And blinked. "Ooh, that's...that's something I'm going to have to learn to curb."

Rose looked at him quizzically.

"It's Donna. The Donna bit in there. That human part that came from Donna. Got a personality tweak in the process. Well, more of an uncontrolled blurting from time to time. Hmm. She did say she wanted to stay with me forever. Guess this is as good as it gets."

Rose's eyes went away from him again. "Yeah."

He felt his lone heart drop. "That's not what... Rose..."

They caught up to Jackie. "I'll show you where you can put a sock in it. If I wasn't so happy to see you, that is. It is you, isn't it? Or are you some kind of Night of the Living Dead clone that we're going to have to teach to use a toothbrush?"

"Night of the...? What? You mean _zombies_? You're asking me if I'm a _zombie_?"

"Same difference."

"Jackie, we talked not five minutes ago."

"That was before I knew the other you was dumping you off."

The Doctor stared at her before deciding that line of discussion was futile. "Sorry to disappoint, but it's me. Toothbrush knowledge and all."

"He's just human now, Mum."

" _Half_ human, thank you," the Doctor reminded her.

Rose seemed as if she wanted to say more, but didn't. He was _hoping_ it was simply because Jackie was there. Maybe if he found a nice rock for Jackie to sit on... Then again, "let's ditch your mother" might not work right at this moment. For one thing, he had no way of securing Jackie to the rock, so the plan was flawed straight off. For another, Rose looked exhausted, so rest first and big important discussions later might be wiser.

Big important discussions? Was that Donna again? She always did seem to have a knack for human relationship stuff, and this seemed _right_ in his mind now. Weird.

They were silent on the walk to the road, and the short car ride to the airport had been dominated by Jackie's mouth. Rose was completely lost in thought and so barely seemed to notice the silence or Jackie.

Rose finally shook out of it when they boarded the small Vitex-owned plane.

"Not quite what you're used to for flying around, is it?" she asked, taking her seat.

"Oh, I think I'll manage." The Doctor plunked down next to her, with Jackie sitting ahead of them.

"You know, I don't even know where to start," she said.

"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read you begin with A...B...C..."

"You idiot, that's The Sound of Music," Jackie chirped.

Rose snorted and the Doctor made the great effort not to kick the back of Jackie's chair.

"Anyway, what I mean is it's been so long," Rose clarified. "I'm sure you've done lots of things, and lots of stuff has happened here."

"Like an addition to the Tyler family," the Doctor said with a grin.

Jackie turned in her seat. "This one here thought we'd named him 'Doctor.'"

The Doctor kicked that time. "Don't you have headphones you could listen to or something?"

"Oh, all right," Jackie grumbled, turning back around. "I'm not listening. You go and prattle on."

The Doctor slouched down in the seat, getting more comfortable and leaning against Rose over the armrest. "Would you believe I met Shakespeare?"

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yup. With Martha."

"Oh, good choice with her," Rose said with a smile. "Or maybe she chose you. Either way."

"Yeah, she was brilliant. Even kissed Shakespeare. Uh, her, not me. Hold on...did she?" He scratched at his chin and smirked. "Let's just say they were really close when I walked in. Oh! And there were witches!"

"No way."

"Well, Carrionites. Close enough. Wish you'd have been there."

Something flickered across Rose's eyes, the spark dying. "Yeah, me too."

The flight continued much that same way: Rose would tell the Doctor a story or he would tell her one. She'd be animated and interested but just as she seemed ready to grin or even laugh, she'd become withdrawn.

It was during a withdrawn moment that the pilot's voice came over the intercom, telling them they'd be touching down in ten minutes.

"What...what did you mean about Donna?" Rose suddenly asked. "The part about it being as good as it gets for her staying with you?"

"Oh, well," the Doctor considered. "She's not here with me, is she?"

"Don't lie."

Her abruptness smarted. "Sorry. Yeah, sorry." He took a deep breath. "She's wrong. Oh, is she wrong. She won't last in her state."

"Oh God."

"Oh no," Jackie chimed in, apparently forgetting she was pretending not to listen.

"I won't let her die. Trust me," he quickly reassured them. "But...I know what will have to happen. She's going to have to lose her memories of me. Everything. She can't remember a thing. And I'll have to be the one to take them from her."

Rose looked slightly nauseous. "That's horrible. And...he'll be alone again, won't he?" Tears hovered in her eyes.

"Yes."

She swallowed and nodded.

"He's an idiot," the Doctor muttered.

Anger flashed across Rose's face. Anger at him.

"He should have kept you with him," he blurted in an attempt to explain.

Anger dissolved into something else: hurt. "Great. Two Doctors and they both want to pawn me off on the other as fast as possible."

The Doctor's mouth dropped. "Don't be stupid!"

She stared.

"You heard me! Stupid! That is _not..._ " The Doctor stopped and took a breath. Yelling at Rose was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

He softened his tone. "That's not what happened. I know it sounds daft and backwards and downright insane, but he left because he loves you. Loves you too much, really. I know because _I..._ " The Doctor suddenly became very aware of Jackie watching him. The Doctor cleared his throat.

"Don't mind me," Jackie said, continuing to watch.

"Jackie, you'd be impossible not to mind."

Jackie rolled her eyes and turned her back to them. But there was no way he wanted to keep having this conversation in front of her. Or behind her, as it was. He glanced at Rose who was watching out the window, still silent.

He mentally sighed.

Then he felt it. Fingers finding his, threading themselves and then holding tightly. But she still didn't turn towards him.

*

It was late when the Doctor walked in the door of the mansion he'd been in so many years ago. The decor had changed somewhat -- a bit less formal and breakables safely stashed away -- but the flood of memories still hit him. Going in disguise (bad luck with that tux), laughing at Rose the dog (which was still funny), and telling Rose she couldn't stay here (fate was the one laughing now.) The Doctor caught Rose's hand as she walked in the house. She gave him a smile and Jackie breezed past them, presumably on her way to check up on Tony and Pete.

"I guess I should say 'welcome home,'" Rose said.

He wrinkled his nose. "Home. Hmmm. Complete with doors and carpets."

"Terrifying?"

"Just a bit," he smirked and pulled her into a hug. "Not too worried about it though." Well, he wouldn't worry about it _yet_ , that was. He was _mostly_ sure he could get that piece of TARDIS coral in his pocket to grow. If not, he'd jump off that bridge when he came to it.

Rose wrapped her arms around him and yawned against his shoulder. Things might not be back to normal between them yet, but they were at least comfortable. And everything would be better after a good night's sleep, right? Right.

"Bed! Definitely need a bed!" he declared.

Rose pulled back and blinked.

Well, nothing like taking that comfortable feeling and stomping on it. He cleared his throat. "Can't have you dropping from exhaustion, now can we?" he clarified, trying to feign ignorance at the accidental innuendo.

"Oh. Right. I actually live in the guest house in the back. It's small, but it's nice. Only one bedroom, but it has its own lounge and kitchen."

"Sounds nice."

"It is nice."

"Nice."

"Well."

"Good."

"So."

"You know, I'm gonna see if Pete's up. Say hello, hit him up for spare parts, that sort of thing," the Doctor said, offering an out as opposed to standing in the entryway for the next two hours, shuffling their feet about things.

"Oh, okay. Don't..." She hesitated.

"Yeah?"

"Don't go anywhere, all right?"

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Not a chance."

She reached up and gave him a soft, if way too short, kiss. His eyes still closed, he listened to the sounds of her footsteps disappearing through the house. From upstairs he could hear voices.

He decided to head in a third direction. Better to give Rose space to get her equilibrium back, right?

He wandered into a lounge with an overstuffed sofa and pictures on the fireplace mantel. Habit made him reach for his glasses, only to find that spot empty. Even though they really weren't needed he still wanted them. He put 'get glasses' on his mental to-do list.

There were a few wedding pictures of Pete and Jackie, loads of of pictures of a child who was obviously Tony, but very few of Rose. And the ones there were of her barely seemed like her. There were no giant smiles - the ones that practically glowed in his mind's eye. She seemed subdued. And the fact that she was thinner only accentuated the lost spark.

He'd fix that. He had to.

The Doctor flopped down on the sofa and picked up a photo album. He opened it, caught a flash of Jackie in a hospital cap and flung the book back on the table.

Labour photos?? Was she serious? And out in the open where someone could get hurt?! He shuddered, the desire to poke around completely gone now.

"Welcome to the domestic minefield of Jackie Tyler," he muttered.

Well, now was probably as good a time as any to take inventory. He started rummaging through his pockets.

One toothbrush. Venusian spearmint flavour.

One...no, two yo-yos.

A rubber duck. Which was really strange since he didn't remember putting it in there.

Some gum.

He fingered something and pulled... "Oh YES!" The psychic paper! His other self would be slightly irked to find that gone, but it would be easy enough to replace for him.

What the...? A bigger rubber duck. Right. Still no clue.

A brochure to the King Aarrr exhibit he always meant to see.

A watch...

He stared at the watch, his stomach flopping. It was Donna's. She'd shoved it into his pocket during a mud storm, and they'd both forgotten about it. He sighed, heartsick for her. By now her mind would be wiped. She'd come so far, seen so much, and now it was gone. She helped to save the fabric of existence itself, and as a reward she lost the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her.

Memories of Jamie and Zoe surfaced - two more people who didn't deserve to never know everything they'd seen and done. That time it was his punishment for asking the Time Lords for help, this time it was simply necessary. It still felt like a punishment though. Maybe it was. Or maybe sometimes life, to put it succinctly, sucked.

He gently placed it down with the other items.

A spool of thread. A keychain with "The King of Rock and Roll" on it. A banana, which he ate. Three paper clips. Some Barcelona currency (the planet, not the city.) Some copper wire.

And then there was that.

The Doctor pulled out the piece of coral from the TARDIS and ran his fingers over it. "Hello, there."

The presence from it was faint, but seemed very much _her_ as opposed to a new entity. Unfortunately, he never paid much attention to the mechanics of TARDIS development, only knowing enough to get him by. But if it was still her, he might not even have to do an imprint flight. Although there'd be absolutely no way he'd risk it. He'd go alone first time out.

He turned the piece over, studying it. "Grown from a hand and grown from a chunk. Fitting, isn't it?"

It hummed happily against his mind and he grinned.

"Why do I get the feeling this was just as much your idea as his? Thanks for coming with me, old girl." He kissed the coral and put it back in his pocket.

The Doctor hit the remote on the television, surfing around and settling on an infomercial. Not that he had any burning desire to own a set of fabulous knives a ninja would be proud to own, but it was mainly for the noise. He scrounged up some paper and a pen and went to work making a list and drawing plans for things like another sonic screwdriver.

The list was necessary since he had ideas about the things on it and Pete's money, but the plans really weren't. But it was the next best thing to actually start building stuff.

A hair loss product, diet pills and two male enhancement adverts later and the Doctor rubbed his eyes. Papers were scattered everywhere, scribblings and sketchings on them. 5:30 a.m. Too early for anyone to be up yet, Rose in particular, but he'd gotten to the point of wanting a break.

He stretched and gave his head a scratch, eyes going to the table and the things that used to be in his pockets. All his worldly possessions. He'd never been so devoid of things before, and he felt the odd sensation of missing the stuff in the TARDIS. 'Materialistic' would be the last word he'd ever use to describe himself, but everything in the TARDIS -- the collections of worlds and lives -- had always been comforting. He felt he belonged in the mounds of history.

But _here_ he belonged...

Rose.

Rose who was over in the guest house. Without him.

Was it wrong to give Rose that space? Maybe he should have followed her. He could have at least stayed in her lounge tonight. That would have been space enough, right? Still too much for his tastes, but there was the bit about her needing space right now, and him trying to be sensitive, and...and...

And if he'd gone with her, his stuff could now be with her stuff!

The Doctor grabbed at the items and papers, shoving them in his pockets. The urge to get the thread, the toothbrush and even the ducks over to Rose's place was overwhelming. He'd be quiet, he wouldn't wake her up, but he'd be _there_.

Satisfied he hadn't left anything, he strode down a hallway, through the kitchen and pulled open the back door. An alarm instantly beeped in protest. The Doctor reached for the sonic screwdriver that wasn't there.

Damn.

The thumping of footsteps, and the Doctor waited for Pete to come bounding around the corner. The light flicked on.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Jackie, completely makeup-less, face dotted with cream, glared at him. "Oh quiet, you daft man."

"Jackie, I've only got one heart now, so for the sake of my health, let's _never_ see each other in the middle of the night again. Ever. If the need arises, we can telephone each other first. Mind, I don't have a phone, but I still think it would be better for everyone involved."

She punched at the keypad.

"So the alarm sounds, you rush to scare the burglar, and Pete's...where, exactly?"

"Checking on Tony. And I knew it'd be you. Rose doesn't have a speck of food in that fridge of hers, so naturally you'd come around."

"Really? Guess it's why she's so thin."

"Oh, don't get me started. And you're one to talk. When's the last time you had a proper meal? Well, you'll have 'em now. Both of you, even if it kills me." Jackie pulled the coffee out and started pouring it into the coffee maker. "Tony'll be up in a half hour anyway," she explained when he'd raised an eyebrow at the coffee. "So you're not here because of Rose's empty pantry?"

"Actually...I haven't been out to Rose's place yet. Technically speaking."

It was Jackie's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"But I was just going out now, so if you'll excuse me..."

"Don't."

The Doctor paused, puzzled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm long past that 'stay away from my daughter or you'll get a slap' stage. Besides, if different universes can't keep you two apart, what chance have I got? Just let her sleep as much as she can now, all right? Maybe she'll get some decent sleep for a change. She's been so driven these last couple of years. No time for anything else. Barely any _one_ else, too." Jackie crossed her arms, leaning back against the counter. It looked like an accusation.

He took at seat at the kitchen table. "Spent her days at Torchwood, did she?"

"Days. Nights. Well at least that'll change now that you're here. No reason to crack the whip on people to build that cannon any more. And to keep shooting herself across the universe every chance she gets."

"That shooting helped save the universe. _Universes_. You all helped to save everything in existence. Let's not forget that. Well, I say 'you all,' I mean Rose...and Mickey."

"Bloody Daleks. What's their problem anyway?"

"Oh, Jackie. It's a long, long, long, long, long, long, very long story. Several stories, actually."

"If you ask me...oh no!" Jackie suddenly put a hand to her head. "I just remembered I'd said yes to a playdate for Tony this afternoon when we've an appointment to get his picture taken. Too early to call..." Jackie wrote a note and stuck it to the fridge.

The Doctor wasn't sure if he admired Jackie or if he was simply amazed that a day after nearly being killed by Daleks, she was back to fussing about her son's schedule. She definitely was adaptable, which he was more likely to joke about than ever admit he was impressed.

"So Tony's the little social butterfly, is he?"

"Nah, he's too much like his father. But at least he's mellow. Rose was a handful and a half, always getting into things and wandering off."

The Doctor smiled.

"Speaking of your health..."

The Doctor blinked. "When were we speaking of my health? Oh...oh, right! The one heart and you shocking me to death!" He was starting to get conversation whiplash.

"I suppose now that you're human--"

" _Half_ human. Why does everyone keep forgetting this?"

"--you'll have to start going to doctors and such. You could talk to Pete. He's got a good doctor. Get regular checkups and the like. You'll probably get sick now, won't you? I mean the human kind of sick."

"Nah. I can't get sick. Won't even now. Well, you won't either." His mouth snapped shut, hoping Jackie wasn't really paying attention.

"What?"

Damn. "Erm..."

"What do you mean, I can't get sick?"

The Doctor winced. "Well..."

"Oh, I knew it! You did something to me! I always knew it! All that alien weirdness and you couldn't help yourself! You did something...something _alien_ , didn't you?!"

"Jackie, I _swear_ if you start talking about probes--"

"PROBES??"

"NO PROBES. NEVER SAY PROBES AGAIN."

Jackie lunged towards him, rolled-up magazine from the counter in hand. 900 years of survival experience paid off: he dived under the table. She jabbed the magazine after him. At least it wasn't the coffee pot.

"Come out here and tell me what you did!"

"I'd rather stay down here, thanks!" He dodged the magazine.

"If I start turning green...!"

"You'll have eaten too much broccoli!"

Another pair of feet appeared in the kitchen. "What the...?" Pete exclaimed.

"He turned me into a mutant!"

"What?"

"I did NOT. Well...define 'mutant.' OW!" The magazine made contact with his shoulder and he retreated to the other side.

"Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Pete asked. "Doctor?"

"Sort of busy right now," he said, trying to untangle himself from chair legs while keeping an eye on Jackie's feet and that bloody magazine.

"Jacks! Sit!" Pete commanded.

"BUT...!"

"I need answers, and I'm not going to get any with you like that." Pete pushed her down into a chair.

The Doctor poked his head up on the opposite side of the table. "Oh, well done, Pete. You have a muzzle too?"

"Oh ha ha." Jackie gave him a glare. "Mock me when you _did_ something to me."

The Doctor eyed the magazine being pried out of Jackie's hand by Pete, then pulled himself up, sitting on a chair. He put his hand out, willing her to stay seated. "It's...it's not _bad_ , Jackie. It's really really not. And I didn't do it, the TARDIS did. Back when we travelled to Canary Wharf it happened. You've not been sick since you've been here, have you? Rose either? Think of it like a cosmic booster shot. At the genetic level."

"What is it exactly?" she asked, slightly calmer and weaponless.

"The TARDIS was engineered for travel to other places and times, but going to other places and times can result in all kinds of badness, one of which being, well, disease. People travelling could pick up something, or even worse, could pass something completely alien to a population. The common cold in the wrong place could wipe out a planet. So everyone gets a slight, _very slight_ , modification their first time out as a safeguard. You've got an immune system that can withstand everything. Well, almost everything. Jackie, you should die of old age...or blunt object." He gave her a smirk.

She wrinkled her nose at him but then relaxed. "It's not _too_ bad, I suppose."

"Not bad at all! Most people would love to have something like this!"

"Could have said something about it, though. Does Rose know?"

"Um..." Did she? Hmm. Probably should mention that to her.

"Does this mean Tony's a bit different too?" Pete asked.

"Ooh," the Doctor said, scratching at his chin. "Not sure, really. I could check it out if you'd like."

"He has always been really healthy. And it would be nice to know he'd never get sick," Jackie admitted.

"Hello, by the way." The Doctor stood up and shook Pete's hand. "Long time, no see. And just so we're clear up front, I am not a zombie, no matter what your wife might have told you."

Pete smirked. "Good to know. When it comes to you, Doctor, I'd believe just about anything. So you're stuck in our little universe now?"

 _"Muuummmy!"_

Jackie shot Pete a look. "You just left him up there?"

"He wasn't awake when I looked in on him!"

"Sometimes, I swear...!" Jackie rolled her eyes and scurried out of the room.

Pete and the Doctor sat down at the table, as Pete chuckled and shook his head. "Never thought it'd be like this, having a kid and all. Don't get me wrong, I love 'em to pieces, but... Let's just say things are never quiet around here. Do you always shake up the people's lives you run across?"

The question hit the Doctor like a ton of bricks, a long string of names immediately running through his mind.

He didn't answer.

"Sorry," Pete said quickly. "If it helps at all, I'm glad you shook up my life. Grateful, even. Hell, if it hadn't been for you those years ago, I'd be dead. So, thank you."

The Doctor nodded. "So...," he said, desperate to change the subject. "You're obviously still in the drink business since we jetted here on a company plane. Thanks for that."

"Yeah, although I'm just sort of the face of it now. Chairman of the Board, in the ads, revenue in the bank. But I've been heading up Torchwood for the last few years. Get a bit more personal satisfaction from helping to save the world than selling energy drinks."

"Keeping Torchwood on the up-and-up, I hope. Not mucking up things too much?"

"You sound like Rose. Never afraid to let her feelings known on the morality of things. Like there was this glove we found. Actually would bring people back to life for a few minutes. She made us lock it up straight off. Wanted to pour cement on it, but settled for a 4-person deadlock and she had one of the keys. You know, Mickey had one. Guess we won't be getting in there."

"Good, because that sounds positively horrific. So speaking of Torchwood, you must have tons of odds and ends lying around over there. Spare parts gathering dust, just begging to become things. Useful things..."

"You want to raid our inventory, don't you?"

"Not much...relatively speaking. Got a handy list and everything! A favour, though, Pete."

Pete smirked. "This isn't already a favour?"

"All right, another favour. Rose didn't want me to leave, and while she most likely meant leave the _universe_ , I want to be sure to be here when she wakes up."

Pete leaned back in his chair, giving him a small smile. "I'm glad you're here, Doctor. Glad for her. She's tough as nails about things - once she gets her teeth in something, she's just like Jackie. And you know Jackie. But...I'll just leave it at I'm glad she found you. I'm putting her on leave for now whether she likes it or not."

"Here we are!" Jackie called out, carrying Tony into the kitchen. "This is the Doctor, Tony. Just pay him no mind whenever he starts talking."

How Rose wound up normal, he'd never know.

*

Rose slept until the afternoon.

Pete had already been to Torchwood and back, handing over three boxes of equipment. The minute Jackie was distracted, the Doctor began hauling everything out to Rose's guest house. The door wasn't locked, which made him wonder if she'd expected him. Probably.

Rose had been right about the size: smaller on the inside. He'd quietly put the boxes of equipment against the wall, while noticing details about the place. Sofa, coffee table, TV. The kitchen was open to the lounge, not big enough for its own table, but it had some stools next to a counter. It was all clean and bright but there was something off...

It didn't feel very lived-in.

It fit the picture he was starting to piece together of Rose during the last two years. He opened some cupboards. Some condiments and tea. More condiments and a couple bottles of beer in the fridge. He peeled the plastic film from the clock on the microwave. Opening it, he found the instruction manual still inside.

She probably pretty much _lived_ at Torchwood since she'd been here.

The Doctor felt a ridiculous amount of satisfaction that Rose never gave up on him -- that she'd been _that_ committed to getting back to him -- and simultaneously _hated_ the thought that she put her life on hold to this extent.

He wandered into the bathroom. A clean folded bath towel sat on the counter. Yeah, she probably had expected him. He took the toothbrush from his pocket and placed it in the toothbrush holder. The ducks went in the tub.

There. Excellent.

He found other places for other things, including a new temporary home for the TARDIS coral, and then settled in on the boxes. The Doctor nearly had a new sonic screwdriver constructed when he heard noise coming from behind the door to the bedroom.

Rose opened the door, blinked at him and broke into a relieved smile. "You're here."

He smiled back. "Where else would I be? Off looking at Jackie's labour photos? That'd be _madness_."

"Oh, sorry." She winced. "Should have warned you about that, shouldn't I?"

He pulled at his hair. "See any grey ones?"

Rose chuckled. Bare feet and still in her pyjamas, she joined him on the floor, crossing her legs. "What's this, then?" She tilted a box to look at its contents.

"Oh, this and that. I need a new sonic screwdriver, don't I? And a few other things."

"Yeah, can't imagine you without your sonic screwdriver for very long."

"Hold on... Almost there..." He made a few more adjustments and then pushed the button. It lit up. "Success!"

"Oh yay! What setting is that then?"

"It's the setting that lights it up."

Rose smirked. "Amazing," she remarked dryly.

For the briefest of moments, the Doctor felt as if this could have been years ago. Him working on some gadget on one of their non-travel days, Rose actually interested instead of just pretending. Talking to each other for hours, never wishing for any alone time.

But reality set in. The reality of the guest house. The parallel world. The mere three boxes of things.

He pocketed the screwdriver.

"I didn't want to leave while you were sleeping..." The Doctor noticed the pleased look on her face. "...but now that you're up, I've got to see this Dimension Cannon! Is it really shaped like a cannon?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"Yes," she said, trying not to smile. "I'd strap on a helmet and they'd load me up."

"I've _really_ gotta see this now. Please tell me there were racing stripes on the helmet."

Rose chuckled again. "Let me take a shower and then we can go."

Forty minutes later and they were at a secondary Torchwood facility, set apart from the dense population of London. The Dimension Cannon was housed in a converted warehouse, the machine itself more of an odd collection of computers, refractors and a power source. It looked like a cobbled-together student science project, but technology's firsts were rarely ever sleek.

The Doctor ran his hand over metal protruding from a refractor and smiled broadly. "You built a trans-universal time machine! That's _wizard_!!"

Rose gave him a funny look.

"Yeah, sorry. Still working on that blurting thing."

She smirked and turned back to the machine. "Well, other people designed it and all. And put it together."

"Ah, but whose idea was it?"

"All right, maybe I had a bit to do with the concept," she said with a smile.

"Rose, you built a _time machine_." He couldn't stop grinning. He bounded to her and crushed her into a hug. "You are _amazing_!"

She pulled back with a twinkle in her eye. "Well, you know. But seriously, we had geniuses working on it."

"I can see that. I've got to meet these people."

"Pete was really generous. Really." She moved from him towards the machine, studying it. "Paid for people to work on it that Torchwood would have never been able to get. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank him. Of course, it didn't seem like such a frivolous thing once the stars started going out. It went from 'project of that insane Tyler girl' to 'salvation of the world' overnight." She touched the control board. "Doesn't work now, I suppose."

"Nope. It's a train without any tracks. And there weren't any tracks when you started either. _And_ you knew there weren't any. What made you think you could get through?"

Rose shrugged. "I had to hope. Hope you were wrong, or that maybe something would change. Didn't want the fabric of reality to be destroyed... We didn't punch any holes ourselves. You've gotta believe that."

"I know."

"But I couldn't do nothing. I had to believe."

Hope. She'd had hope when he'd had none. The Doctor went to her, taking her hand.

"I just can't seem to get the hint when you try to send me away," she said with a sad smile and a sideways glance. He was pretty sure she meant it as a tease, but there was an edge to it.

He wanted to reassure her, to tell her that if given choice, he'd always keep her with him instead of protecting her life, but that seemed a bit like a lie. Even now.

"I never want to. It's a 'have to' thing."

She was silent, shifting her feet.

Pete was right, though. Once Rose decided on something, there was absolutely no stopping her. And she'd decided to be with him -- something she'd had to practically yell at him in order for it to sink in. Unfortunately once it finally got through to him, she... Well, he really didn't want to think about what happened at Canary Wharf.

It should have been impossible. But with the Cannon in front of him now, 'impossible' simply didn't apply to Rose Tyler.

The sound of the door interrupted the silence.

"Rose! Oh, Doctor! Hey!"

"Jake-y boy!" The Doctor let go of Rose's hand to shake Jake's.

"Looks like everything worked out then? Well, I knew that before. Had a clue when the stars came back and we're all still alive," Jake commented.

"Just a hint, then," Rose teased.

"Yeah yeah. I'm being sent back to Torchwood One. Most everyone is. Came by to pick up my stuff."

"None too soon, yeah?" Rose asked.

"Did I ever complain?" Jake countered.

Rose smirked. "All the time?"

"Okay, there _might_ be some celebrating. That reminds me - I can't get Mickey on his mobile. He came back in one piece, didn't he?"

"Oh." Rose shot the Doctor a glance.

Jake's face fell.

"Oh no! He's alive!" Rose quickly said, giving Jake's arm a squeeze.

"Completely and utterly fine!" the Doctor added.

"But...he stayed in the other world, Jake."

"What? Really?" Jake put a hand in his hair.

Rose nodded.

Shock was written on his face. "Just like that?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't even say goodbye first, did he?"

"I'm sorry--" Rose started.

"Nah. Forget it. Good riddance, the tosser." Jake strode out of the room, managing to swipe a stack of papers off a table along the way.

"I'm gonna... I need to go talk to him. Just for a few minutes," Rose apologised.

"No, no! Go ahead. Take all the time you need. Rose, were he and Mickey...?"

"What? Them?" She paused, almost as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Maybe on Jake's part, but I don't think Mickey. I mean, he did just up and leave, didn't he? No goodbyes? Seems pretty definitive, doesn't it?"

There was a sadness in her eyes, and the Doctor had the feeling she might not have been talking about Jake and Mickey anymore. But she turned and left the room before any more was said.

The Doctor had a panel open and was underneath a section of the Cannon when Rose finally came back. He could see her feet walking towards him, then bending down to talk. Just like so many times she'd done before...

"Wow, this is familiar," Rose said. "All that's missing is the console."

The Doctor pushed himself away from the machine to grin at her. "You've been reading my mind." He sat up.

"Got a smudge." She rubbed his nose. "Doctor, how are you doing?"

"Well, I've reviewed the whole system, and I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed--"

"No," she interrupted. "I mean, _how are you doing_? Being stuck here?"

He moved to get up and she helped him. He wasn't quite ready to tell her about the TARDIS piece. The last thing he wanted to do was get her hopes up and dash them. She hoped for the both of them before, and it seemed like it should be his turn. "I ever tell you about the time I was stuck on Earth? Grounded, really."

"Seriously? For how long?"

"Years. It was centuries ago. Picked up a job at UNIT as a way to pass the time. So this? This is old hat."

"You miss it though, don't you? Even already."

With every fibre of his being, he didn't say. From her eyes, he didn't have to.

Rose looped her arm through his and pulled him towards the exit. "Come on. Mum called a minute ago. She's insisting we have dinner with them. Something about feeding us or dying. Let's just hope she ordered in."

The Doctor wrinkled his nose.


	2. Chapter 2

"...and that was right before she banished us!" Rose added, as she and the Doctor tag-teamed telling the story of the werewolf to Pete, Jackie, and a wide-eyed Tony.

"Here we go and save her and she kicks us out like common thugs!"

"Oh, go on," Jackie said. "As if you two were ever knighted."

"Mum, you just heard a story about a werewolf and it's the knighting part that you don't believe?"

"Most the time I can't tell when you're serious and when you're having me on," Jackie complained.

"Sir Doctor," Rose said to the Doctor with a smile.

"Dame Rose," he grinned back.

Pete finished clearing the table, probably a not-so-subtle sign that their dinner (thankfully delivery) was over and actually should have been over two hours ago.

"Well, I'd like to thank you for what I'm sure will be nightmares for my son," Pete said, half jokingly, "but some of us have to work tomorrow. And should have been in bed long ago."

He picked up Tony who had been transfixed by the stories being told, never once fidgeting. Tony started to whine.

"Oh, don't worry," Jackie told him. "You can listen to more stories later."

"And here I thought Tony wasn't supposed to be listening to me," the Doctor reminded her.

"Well, a little might not hurt him," Jackie said, standing. She ruffled the Doctor's hair. "Too much." She took Tony from Pete and the three of them headed out of the kitchen, Tony waving at them from over Jackie's shoulder.

The Doctor stared straight ahead and Rose leaned her mouth against her hand, covering a smile.

"She... She..."

"Ruffled your hair."

"She ruffled my hair."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that she likes you."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that she _ruffled my hair_."

"You rather she start kissing you again?"

"NO."

Rose snorted into her hand.

The Doctor shuddered.

"So Doctor, why do you think we were banished anyway?" Rose asked.

"Fear. Plain and simple. It's the ostrich burying its head in the sand. They don't really do that, by the way. Well...the ones on Yullan do. But we got painted with the same brush as that werewolf. We were outside of that dreamt-of philosophy. Some can accept that, and others can't. Agatha Christie? One that could, by the way. Of course, you probably could have guessed that."

"Really? You met Agatha Christie? Seriously?"

"Yup! Not too long ago. _And_ we were involved in a real-life 1920s murder mystery!"

"No way! I think the closest we ever got to something like that was with...what was it? You know what I'm talking about." She clicked her fingers. "The sponge somethings."

"Oh right! With the missing statue! The Sponjusts!"

"The Sponjusts!"

They laughed at the memory.

 _"Oi! You two! Take it outside!"_ Jackie yelled from upstairs.

They took it outside.

"And I thought you were joking when you told me we were going to see sponges," Rose remarked as they made their way to the guest house.

"Not that they're really sponges. They're just really really squishy."

"How in the world did they ever make a stone statue anyway?"

"Centuries of blobbing at it. Any wonder it was priceless?"

"Oh, speaking of blobbing, I've been trying to remember the name of those blobby creatures. The purple ones. What were they called again?"

"T'rla'ma'pu'ans."

She grinned. "Yeah, not even gonna try saying that."

"The key is the amount of spit you work up with the P sound."

"And that's why I'm not gonna try that."

She put her key into the lock of the guest house, and switched on the lights on entering. The Doctor went straight for the kitchen.

"Have a cuppa?" he asked.

"Do you even know where it is?"

"Do you?"

"Ha ha," she sat on a stool, propping her elbows on the counter.

"The tea is next to a very lonely jar of unopened mustard," he informed her.

"It seemed like a good idea when I bought it."

"And I find your lack of jam disturbing."

Rose snorted. "We _can_ get some, you know."

We. Right at that moment 'we' was his favourite word in the universe. He smiled to himself as he got out some mugs.

"White mugs? Bleh. How dull!"

"You're going to do a complete overhaul of this place, aren't you?"

"Nah. Just the essentials. Jam. White mugs. Of course, can you blame me? Not exactly the thermal material back on the TARDIS. Earth mugs? A bit of rubbish," he teased.

"Yeah, those were some great mugs." And like that, the humour vanished from her eyes. "Still where you left them, I suppose."

The Doctor poured the water and silently begged to reverse time for the last five seconds. "I suppose," he said lightly.

Rose "hmm"-ed and relocated to the sofa. The Doctor followed, putting the mugs down on the table.

"What happened to my stuff on the TARDIS?" she asked, running a hand through her hair, before propping her elbow on the back of the sofa.

"It's right where you left it." He sat down next to her.

"Didn't clear out my old room then?"

"No. I left it alone." And sealed it, he didn't add.

Rachnoss defeated, he'd wound up in her room. He told himself he was putting away the shirt that Donna had found, but sat on Rose's bed for six hours. The shirt never made it off the bed. Then he'd closed the door behind him and made it so no one would ever accidentally stumble across the room.

He reached for her hand. He needed her touch to get him back from that moment.

Fingers found fingers.

He looked up at Rose who was watching their hands.

"Thought maybe you'd have added my stuff to the wardrobe or something. Although I guess it'd have only come in handy if you were visiting early 21st century Earth."

As if he could have ever handled someone walking into the console room wearing Rose's clothes. "Oh, the wardrobe already has enough stuff."

"Well," she said slowly. "It's probably getting cleaned out now, isn't it?" She gently pulled her hand back and let her gaze go to her mug.

The Doctor swallowed. "No. It's not."

"You don't know that, do you?"

"I know me."

She took a drink, holding the mug thoughtfully before putting it back down. "So, since you know you, has he already found someone to be with him?"

"Maybe. Accidents happen. A bit of chance."

"Or maybe he hasn't," she said, still looking at the mug.

"Maybe. But he'll land on his feet. I always did."

"I swear, if you're about to say 'I'm always all right...' Just _don't_ , okay?"

She was clearly trying to stay rational and even about things, but the hurt in her voice was starting to come through.

"Rose..."

"I said I'd never leave you," she blurted.

The Doctor was taken aback. "You didn't. You _haven't_. In spite of everything, you came back. You made the impossible possible!"

She shook her head. "You said you'd never leave me," she said, switching gears. "I remember it like it was yesterday instead of three years ago. Right there on that street. Said you'd never leave me behind even though you'd always done it."

"I _didn't_ leave you."

"Could have fooled me! Off you went like a shot! We didn't even get a chance to talk. Really _talk_."

"We're talking now!"

Rose flopped her head back and stared at the ceiling. "You don't get it."

"Neither do you, apparently." That came out wrong.

Her head snapped back up. "All right. You tell me how exactly I'm supposed to stop trying to get back to the other world when he's still out there? Alone! How am I supposed to be happy when he's left me here?"

He tried to ignore how much her word were stinging. "I'm _here_! You honestly think for a second that you'd be in this world if he didn't fully believe that we're the same person? You _really_ think he'd shuttle you off like that? Throw you some look-alike to play with? Or fix? Some project to distract you with for the rest of your life? I may be a lot of things, Rose Tyler, but I am not _that_!"

"Then tell me _why_! He didn't even say goodbye! I know it's been a while, but there was plenty of room in the TARDIS last I saw. We could have all stayed there! I know there's not some 'every universe gets a Doctor' program. And if you're too dangerous or whatever, why didn't he keep an eye on you himself? Why did he leave us here?!" she demanded.

"Because I was scared out of my mind, all right?!"

Her mouth hung open.

"I mean...him. He was the one that was scared. Trust me, I know."

Teared hovered in her eyes. "I don't understand," she said softly.

"I know you don't fully believe I'm me yet..."

She shook her head. "I do. It's just that--"

He continued anyway. "...and maybe it's because there are two of us now, or maybe it's the half-human thing, but he knew you'd see it eventually. And see that given the choice between two people nearly the same, really the _same_ person - shared everything you'd ever done together, and shared every feeling - but one could spend the rest of his life with you and one couldn't, one could express things with ease and one couldn't... How could he hope to compete with that?"

"But that never mattered to me! I knew what the situation was. It was fine. Really!"

"I know. I know! Believe me, I know. So many times I boggled at the thought, even tried to convince myself I was wrong -- that _it_ was wrong -- but I _knew_ you were content. Because that was just so _you_ , Rose. Stuff like that didn't matter to you. I would have taken your forever for myself. I _would_ have. But then...then there was me. I sabotaged myself, Rose. I didn't plan on doing it, it just happened."

Rose looked stricken. "I chose, didn't I? Right there on the beach. And...God, right in front of him."

He softly replied, "He knew, Rose. Even before you reacted. Even before I told you I loved you. He knew what he was doing when he landed the TARDIS. He wanted to make it quick. Think about it, Rose. Just...stop and think."

The Doctor put his hand on hers. "I'd weathered boyfriends and a slapping mother and differences and time itself for you, but I couldn't win against myself. And as much as it would hurt, I wouldn't _want_ to win against myself; not when it's like this. But to have to be a bystander to it...the thought of losing you again," his voice caught, "it _kills_ me."

Rose looked up from his hand with wide eyes.

The Doctor tried to say more, but nothing was coming out.

In an instant she leaned forward, her lips on his, tasting of salt. Had she been crying? Maybe it was him. He sighed into the kiss, thinking again how right this felt - just as it had felt on the beach.

Lips parting, he started pulling her closer to him, but she stopped.

Rose hovered close to his face, her eyes down. For a moment, the only sound was their breathing.

"I'm...I'm going to bed," Rose finally said.

Was that an invitation?

"I just...I..." She kissed him again, softer this time. "Good night." She pulled away, hand wiping at her eyes.

Guess not.

The door closed behind her.

The shower helped.

Some.

Pushing one of the ducks with his foot, for the first time he wondered what his other self was doing. _Had_ fate plunked someone new in his lap already? Someone who'd wormed their way into the TARDIS? Or was he off to stay at a commune for a few months? It wouldn't have been the first time.

Would he be happy Rose was having a hard time over him? Yeah, he'd sabotaged himself with Rose by having another half-human him, but he'd also sabotaged himself by staying in another universe. He'd probably be pleased.

Or not.

The Doctor chided himself for being petty. Given the choice between the two worlds, he'd pick this one. Any day of the week, and that included the human heart. He'd been so weary of it, it seeming to all go on without end, but now he was here in a brand new life. A life with Rose. If she'd let him. She would...wouldn't she? What if she didn't? What if she decided...

Right at this moment he really missed Donna. Donna would have told him not to be an idiot, slapped him on the head and then dragged him down to the pub. She would have listened to his woes, rolled her eyes and given him the best advice in the world. It probably would have been, "Just let her come around, you daft half-alien git!" And she would have mocked him for the mango shampoo he was using.

He hoped Donna was happy back in Chiswick. Really happy.

Dried off and back in his suit, he wandered into the lounge. He checked on the TARDIS coral and grinned, but then yawned. Odd, that.

Suddenly the sofa looked really comfortable. Maybe a quick nap and then back to the boxes. He stretched out and closed his eyes.

*

The Doctor drifted awake and rubbed his cheek. It was...wet. Was he...? No. Yes. Ew. He'd been drooling. He slowly opened his eyes to a form in the chair across from him. He focused. Rose was watching him, sipping a drink. He quickly sat up, and she snorted into the mug.

He blinked groggily at her, realising daylight was shining through the windows. "What?"

"Your hair's a bit...fluffy at the moment."

He patted at it and she smirked.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Mmm, not long. An hour."

"An hour??"

"I've never seen you sleep before. You snore a bit."

"I do NOT."

She stood up and walked into the kitchen, getting a second mug. "Sure you don't," she replied, amusement in her voice.

"I can't believe I fell asleep like that. It was...overpowering! Hmm. Must be a mechanism that's coded in the DNA. Sleep is related to brain function, and yours truly," he knocked on his head, "is still Time Lord up here."

Rose handed him a mug. "So you don't need to sleep, but your body's going to anyway?"

"Apparently."

Rose sat down next to him, looping an arm through his and putting her feet up on the table. "So...sorry about last night."

"There's something to be sorry about?"

"I don't know. It just seems like..." She sighed.

"I know things haven't exactly gone like you thought they would. And--"

"Let's do something," Rose interrupted.

"Hold on, sorry?"

"I'm tired of talking right now. Aren't you tired of it?"

"Well..."

"Let's get out of here and _do_ something."

The Doctor slowly broke into a smile. "Right! Come on!" He jumped up, grabbing her hand and pulling her out the door.

Ten minutes and an annoyed Pete Tyler later, and they were driving down the road in his convertible.

"So where we off to?" Rose asked.

"Don't know! More fun that way!"

She grinned at him. One of those one-hundred-percent-pure Rose Tyler grins.

"Chips! I want chips! Let's go find some!"

"It's too early!" Rose protested.

"We'll find some!"

They got sidetracked by a department store. The Doctor quickly swerved the car -- Rose shrieked something he couldn't make out -- then jumped out and grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her into the shop.

"Wow, _shopping_? Thrilling!" Rose commented, extremely amused. "This would be the Donna bits in you, wouldn't it?"

"Nah. Well, maybe. Dunno, really. But I need some extra clothes. And glasses. I really miss my glasses."

"You're actually going to wear something besides your suit?"

"Already went to blue, so the sky's the limit!"

"Really?"

"All right, no. But I need new shirts and ties. And, um...a couple of other things. I got dressed _really_ fast."

Rose cleared her throat and quickly murmured, "I think Men's is this way."

They walked deeper into the shop. "Oh, hold on. You do have money, don't you?"

Rose grinned. "I should have figured. Started out as a cheap date, and now is draining my bank account. You wanted me for my money, didn't you?"

He grinned back. "Yup."

"Since I'm paying and all, I know you like to stick to a certain look, but any chance you could get a different coloured suit?"

Hmm. She _had_ teased him about the blue back on the TARDIS. "I guess I could get something different. More fashion options that way. I'd have to make some modifications to the pockets again, but that wouldn't take long. Ooh, I could get another brown--"

"No," Rose interrupted.

He looked at her, startled.

"Just how about something new?" she quickly added, trying to keep her tone light but somewhat failing.

"Yeah. Sounds good," he said, also trying to match her light tone. And also somewhat failing.

Rose wandered over to a table a little ways away.

Why shouldn't he have another brown suit? He loved that suit. And he'd been in it just as much as the other him.

He frowned at the shirts in front of him, looking through them. He picked a few out, and then went to the ties. He heard Rose come up next to him, her hands going to another set of ties.

"Sorry. Seems like I'm apologising all the time now," she remarked. "We can get you a brown suit if you'd like. It's what you used to wear, after all."

She was in his head again. Not really, of course, but... "How about," he tried, putting a tie down on his growing pile of clothes, "we forget the new suit for now? Too much of a hassle converting it anyway when I've got better things to do."

"You know, you _could_ wear an unconverted suit."

"Don't be daft. Where would I keep my ducks?" He bumped her shoulder.

"I don't know. They seem pretty happy in the bathroom."

"True, they do see the light of day now. Probably were going _quackers_ before."

"Oh God," Rose groaned, trying to suppress a grin, and bumping his arm back.

"You know what I need now? Jim-jams! If I'm actually going to sleep, I'm going to need something to sleep in! Ooh!" He spotted a rack and dashed over, grabbing a yellow and white polka dot set. "What d'ya think?" he asked, holding it up.

"Erm..." Rose said with a nose-scrunch. "No. Just no." She picked up a solid t-shirt and flannel bottoms and handed them to him. "Much, much better."

"Really? Sort of plain."

" _Trust_ me."

He did.

The boot loaded up with bags and the Doctor's new glasses in his pocket, the next stop was a chippy where they were the first customers of the day. Their portion of chips obtained, they strolled down the sidewalk dotted with other pedestrians.

Rose grabbed some chips out of the paper the Doctor was holding. "Not bad."

"Not bad at all. And none of that extra... _stuff_ on it. Why anyone would ever want to cover up their chips is beyond me. Still, though, I miss the newspaper. There was something about that."

"That inky taste?" she teased.

"Yeah," he grinned. "Must be."

Clouds were in the sky, but overall it was a nice day. The sun peeked through here and there and leaves rustled in the early fall breeze. All-in-all, really quite--

"This feels weird," Rose stated.

The Doctor gave her a quizzical look.

"I mean, not you," she quickly added. "I just mean not working on the Cannon anymore. And not dealing with the end of the universe. It all became part of every-day life."

"A well-earned holiday," the Doctor commented, throwing a chip in his mouth.

"But it's not, is it? Everything's changed again."

"This is a _tiny_ bit better than dealing with the end of the universe, isn't it?"

"Slightly," Rose said with a grin.

The Doctor held out the paper containing the lone last chip. Rose took it and he tossed the paper in a bin.

"It's just weird," she said again.

"Got that part - by weird you didn't mean me, you meant working on the Cannon and so on."

"But don't _you_ think this is weird?"

"Ah, not talking about 'working on the Cannon and so on.' In other words, me. On the strangeness scale, it's not at the top by a long shot. Take, for example, being put on trial by a potential future evil self that exists between incarnations."

Rose blinked and shook her head. "All right, that probably has this beat."

"Oh! Or combining forces with four of my past selves in order to defeat a man... Although, hold on, he wound up getting what he wanted in the end."

"So, a 'no' on defeating him then."

"Well, it was very much a 'be careful what you wish for' thing."

"Hmm. Be careful what you wish for," Rose said absently. "Weird."

" _What's_ weird?"

"Sorry. It's nothing."

"Or it's something?" the Doctor prompted.

"It's silly. Forget I said anything."

"Just tell me. If it's silly, I promise not to laugh," he offered. "You've said 'weird' one too many times, and it'll drive me bonkers for years if you don't tell me."

Rose's expression was thoughtful.

The Doctor gave her an encouraging smile.

She glanced away and took a breath. "Back before I came to this world, when I was still with you, sometimes I'd wished that the whole Bad Wolf thing had changed me. Made it so I couldn't die. So I could be with you forever."

The Doctor felt his blood go cold. He nearly stopped walking.

She continued. "And here you are... _You_ changed."

"Rose, I would _never_ want that for you."

"Yeah, well, I never wanted this for you," she countered. "Stuck in some human life. 'Don't you dare make me domestic,' you said once."

"Think I said 'this place,' not 'me.'"

"Close enough."

"And recalling that precise conversation... Heh." The Doctor smirked.

"What?"

He scratched at the back of his neck. "I sorta meant Mickey, and you traipsing your boyfriend through the place."

"Bad experience having a couple on board once?"

"Actually, no. I just didn't want to be reminded you had a boyfriend."

"What, you mean... Already way back then?" She looked genuinely surprised, but also sported a small smile.

"Well, you know. Yeah." He grinned at her, and she began to grin back. "Of course, you seemed to take that as some sort of signal to start dragging in random men," he added with a mock huff.

"Oi! There were only two! And I kinda did start dragging them in, didn't I?" Her tongue poked out of her grin. "Since we're confessing things and all, I sorta did it because I was falling for you and thought it was completely daft to be falling for you. What would some 900-year-old alien want with me?"

"Want you to not have boyfriends, is what."

Rose laughed.

He pulled Rose to a stop, his hand going to her cheek. "Oh, your laugh. Don't ever stop laughing, all right?"

"I can stop sometimes though, yeah?" There was her tongue again.

"Here and there," he conceded.

"That's a relief."

His hand didn't seem to be moving. "Your laugh is the one thing...no, strike that. It's one of _many_ things I missed."

"I missed you talking to me a mile-a-minute." She was staring at his lips, which had an intoxicating effect.

"Really?" he asked, those mile-a-minute words not coming at the moment.

"Really. One of many, many...many things too."

"Yeah?"

She stepped closer, closing the remaining gap between them. "Oh yeah." Her eyes were back to his - those amazing eyes. He leaned down and kissed her, softly at first but quickly it became more.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, pressing himself against her and pulling her to him. She did the same. The taste of Rose and chips on his tongue and her hand in his hair. No space between them and it still didn't feel close enough.

Was he hearing bells? Oh, her mobile was ringing.

"It'll go...voice mail," Rose said, her voice breathy between kisses.

The phone stopped and the Doctor had a moment of realising he was making out in public before deciding he did _not_ care.

The phone rang again. Rose stopped this time, which was incredibly disappointing.

"It could be important."

"Well, you're a very important person," he teased without a hint of sarcasm.

She squeezed his side and reached for her phone.

"Rose, here. Yeah? No way."

The Doctor grinned and waved at a passer-by who was giving them a very odd look in their current pressed-together state, still clinging while Rose was talking on her mobile.

"Yeah, I think we can do that," she said and then hung up with a twinkle in her eye. "How do you feel about stopping an alien invasion?"

They ran.

Hand-in-hand they sprinted back to the car. The next moment they were flying down the road in the convertible, both grinning like loons.

On rushing into the stark interior of Torchwood One, two people ran over to them.

"What have we got?" Rose asked, as they all strode down a long corridor.

"One hostile. Landed the craft near Pratts Bottom."

" _One_?" the Doctor interjected. "Ooh, that's a massive alien invasion right there. And hostile you say? Did he/she/it have a weapon?"

The two men gave him a suspicious look.

"It's all right. He's with me," Rose reassured them.

The Doctor wiggled his fingers at them. "Hello! Now about the hostile part of this?"

"There was lots of yelling," the shorter of the men said.

"What was he/she/it yelling?"

"Not sure. It was some foreign tongue."

The Doctor skidded to a halt. "Hold on. Yelling? Unidentified _yelling_?? That's the hostile part of it? And do you know if it's a he, she or it? Because that's getting exhausting to say."

"He. Maybe? Um...there was arm-waving too."

The Doctor rubbed his face and groaned.

"Where's he now?" Rose asked.

"Holding cell. Level 3."

"Right. Thanks. We'll go it alone," she said, walking over to the lift. The Doctor followed her into it, crossing his arms over his chest. "They're not bad guys. Just a bit...high strung," Rose explained.

"You people need a translator. A device, I mean. Why don't you have a translator? That technology shouldn't be beyond you."

"We've got something in the planning stages. But the funny thing about this Earth is it hasn't had very many aliens stop by. Most the stuff we deal with is of Earth origin. So it hasn't been a big priority here."

"Really? Hmm."

"Ahead in some things, behind in others, I guess." She mimicked his crossed arms. "So... I thought you were supposed to be all guns-blazing now."

The Doctor blinked. "Sorry?"

"Just what you said on the beach. The other you, I mean. About you. Oi, all the 'you's gets confusing."

"Oh, that. Rose, in all the time you've known me, even when we first met, have I ever been an idiot? No, no, don't answer that. But lone, unarmed, yelling, possibly male alien is hardly 'break out the nukes' time. He starts talking about having a craving for eating toes, then we'll...have a different discussion. Born in battle," the Doctor muttered. "How about 'born in the fire of the burning TARDIS?' Very phoenix-like, that. As well as a bit more flash than something like spectrox toxaemia."

"Spectra what?"

"Oops, story for another time," the Doctor said, nodding at the opening lift doors.

As they approached the holding cell, Pete joined them from another direction. "Sorry for bringing you in here, but gotta say, we're not exactly used to stuff like this."

"So I hear. If you want my advice -- and even if you don't -- you need to push that translator to the top of your priority list."

"Already done."

"Better late than never, I suppose," the Doctor remarked dryly.

The Doctor moved forward, getting a better view through the thick, clear wall of the cell - probably lead acrylic or hyperglass. Eyes stared back at him and the Doctor snorted out a laugh.

"Congratulations, you've captured the universe's equivalent of a football hooligan."

Green twinge to his skin, the Hartalan was shorter and stockier than your average human, and completely hairless due to a non-mammal-like lineage.

The Hartalan spoke, naturally, Hartalanian. _"Laugh it up, you hairy, brainless git!"_

The Doctor spoke Haralanian back to him. _"Hairy? Yes, and ruggedly so. But brainless? Nah, got one of those."_

The Hartalan jumped up and rushed to the wall. _"THANK YOU, TRA! Let me out of here! If that was a no-parking zone, I'll pay the fine or move it or whatever! You've no right to hold me!"_

Pete jumped back at the movement, but Rose stood her ground next to the Doctor.

 _"Not exactly a no-parking zone as such. I'm the Doctor, and you are...?"_

 _"Blah."_

 _"Blah. Really? I mean, fine name. Good job by your parents. So, Blah, why are you here?"_

Blah reached into his pocket and extracted a piece of paper that he plastered against the clear wall. The Doctor took out his new glasses and studied it.

 _"Ah,"_ the Doctor said. _"Well, here's your problem. You're on the wrong planet."_

 _"Bugger me. Where am I?"_

 _"Earth. Human-based and a bit on the skittish side. You're in the right galaxy but the wrong solar system. Opposite end, actually."_

 _"I knew only 50 credits for a guidance system was too good to be true."_

"Right," the Doctor spoke in English again. "Blah here is just trying to get to a music festival and accidentally wound up on the wrong planet. So mark him in the non-hostile category."

"Poor guy," Rose commented. "Can we give him a lift back to his ship? It'd be the decent thing to do."

"Yes, exactly! Don't want him to miss the opening act! Mind springing the fellow?" the Doctor asked Pete.

"You're sure."

"I'm sure. OH! Paper? Pen? I want to give him some directions. Go right, ahead three paces, turn left at the flashing neon cow... That sort of thing. Well, not literally, of course. It's not actually a cow."

Pete handed over some paper and a pen that the Doctor pocketed.

"You know..." Rose frowned. "We're gonna need a blanket. And a hat."

Blah, bundled up and secured into the back seat of the convertible, peered at them from beneath a pink knitted cap. _"Reminds me of being hazed."_

 _"Gotta love ridiculous rituals,"_ the Doctor replied, starting the car and racing off in the direction of Pratts Bottom.

"I wish I could talk to him," Rose said, glancing back and giving Blah a smile.

"Not much of a conversationalist, actually."

"Just tell him hello from me. Or something." She turned sideways in her seat.

 _"My friend here says to say hello,"_ the Doctor told Blah, watching him through the mirror.

Blah looked at Rose. _"She's not my usual type, but I'd give her a go. I've got an extra ticket to the festival, and she looks like she can party. Yeah, she can come with me if she wants. Especially if she can cook."_

 _"Ooh, sorry. Horrible cook. Actually, she's not allowed to leave the country right now - attempted poisoning of this bloke. Well, I say attempted... They'll never prove a thing, though! Fingerprints are lousy evidence. And DNA. Who believes DNA these days?"_

Blah stared at Rose.

"What'd he say?"

"Pretty much hello, and it's nice to meet you."

"Awww." She gave Blah a grin.

Blah shrank into the blanket.

They found the small craft hidden in a wooded area thanks to Blah's tracking device - the Doctor always meant to install one of those on the TARDIS but never seemed to get around to it. Maybe now.

He quickly scratched out directions on the paper and handed them to Blah with, _"Sorry for the inconvenience. Next time spend the money on the guidance system. You could have wound up in the States and, well, dissection's never pleasant."_

"Bye." Rose smiled and waved to Blah.

Blah blinked and sprinted onto his ship.

"His way of saying goodbye," the Doctor commented.

"Ah."

"Probably should..." he pointed to the car.

"It's _so_ my turn to drive." They hopped in and sped away from the space ship's starting engines.

"You know, it's funny," Rose said as the Doctor watched the craft shooting upwards. "I've never heard you speak another language before. The TARDIS always translated."

"Five billion languages and fortunately Hartalanian is one of them."

She smiled at him. "Guess this is just a day of firsts, isn't it?"

"Guess so." He grinned.

Her mobile rang again.

"I thought you were supposed to be on holiday," the Doctor grumbled.

"Could you get that? I don't have my earpiece with me."

"What??" the Doctor asked, completely alarmed.

"My very _non-Cyberman_ earpiece."

"Your very non-Cyberman earpiece you'll be letting me look at before you ever use it again, right?"

"That's the one."

The Doctor answered the mobile. "Hello?"

 _"Please tell me you've eaten today."_

The Doctor held the phone out away from him. "It's Jackie."

*

Rose juggled bags as she unlocked the door to the guest house. The Doctor shifted the bags in his own hands.

"You know, Mum would be impressed."

"As she should be. I am the king of shopping! Hmm. On second thought, let's keep that one to ourselves, all right?"

"Just as well. If she were here she'd make you model everything. _Everything_."

"No. No, no, no. No."

"Might even take you with her next time out."

The Doctor shuddered. "Now that's just cruel. Besides, I think I've got enough clothes now." He dropped the bags by the counter and glanced into the lounge. "You know what we need? A DVD player. Or maybe they're beyond DVD players here already. But we definitely need movie night again. Ooh, please tell me they have Disney in this world."

Rose was staring into the bag of take-out -- the chicken they swore to Jackie they'd not only get, but eat tonight -- but wasn't touching it.

"Parallel Earth to Rose..."

She turned her attention to the bags of clothes, a smile spreading on her lips. "This just reminds me of something. Something from ages ago."

"Uh, movie night?"

"No."

"Eating together?"

"No, not that."

He followed her gaze to the bags on the floor. "What, the clothes?"

"Signing up."

The Doctor blinked in confusion and Rose retrieved something from a drawer. She walked into the lounge.

"C'mere a minute," Rose instructed.

The Doctor scratched his head and did so.

Rose grinned and held out her hand. In it was a key. "Tell you what. Guest house key. About time you had one.

The key. The clothes. Rose's words came back to him, the ones she'd said when they'd barely known each other yet when she'd handed him a big bag of clothes... _Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me. Ha!_

The Doctor slowly grinned. In one swift move grabbed the key and pounced. Rose, that was. The key went in his pocket.

With a new centre of gravity, they lost balance and tumbled onto the sofa, him with an 'oof' and Rose with a giggle.

He grinned. "Whoops. I tripped."

"You have the _best_ lines, you know that, yeah?"

"Well..."

Rose kissed him. Whatever he was going to say went completely away. He circled his arms around her and she threw her arm around his neck. The other hand found its way underneath his jacket. He half-registered that as worthy of further thought, but was much more interested in her lips--

She pulled back. NO!

"So. When you said you dressed quickly...what exactly don't you have on?" Rose bit her lip.

There was only one response to that.

"Mrrff."

She smirked. " _Such_ a smooth talker."

The Doctor cleared his throat, twice, wondering why his brain had chosen now to stop forming words.

"I suppose if you're not gonna tell me, I might have to find out some other way." Her fingers brushed against his jaw-line, desire in her eyes.

He smiled and made some sort of noise, which he really hoped sounded affirmative. He was absolutely, positively in agreement with every last aspect of this line of discussion.

"Hmm. Completely speechless. This could be serious. Maybe we _should_ eat something. And we don't want it to get cold, after all." Rose looked at him innocently.

 _That_ jump-started his tongue. "Oh, completely full! Couldn't possibly eat another bite from five hours ago! In fact..." he jumped up and quickly threw the take-out bag in the fridge. "...all ready cold. Aww, too late. Shame, really."

"All right," she said with a giant grin. "What about the bags of clothes by your feet? Probably should put those away first. Someone could trip."

The Doctor scooped them up and flung them through the open door of her bedroom. "Sorted!"

She joined him at the doorway. Her hand moved up and a finger traced the seam of his shirt. "Too bad you're not wearing a tie."

"Huh? Whatever! I can go get one--!"

"Forget it," she interrupted. "I'll make do." Her lips were on his as she grabbed his lapels and pulled him into the bedroom.

*

The Doctor woke up, aware of senses other than sight. The sound of Rose breathing softly against his chest, and rain outside the window. The smell of her completely surrounding him. His mind able to find her presence. The feel of her skin against his, soft and warm. Taste...well, that was morning breath as much as he'd like it to be Rose.

He opened his eyes to messy blonde hair.

It might have been cheesy to say -- or to even think -- but he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this happy. This all-encompassing, perfectly content, down-to-his-toes happy.

Maybe cheesy was good.

He took in his surroundings. First time in her bedroom, and he wasn't exactly paying attention to it last night. There weren't very many personal touches, just like the rest of her place. Maybe she never expected to stay that long. Or maybe it was just because she had no past in this world.

The Doctor did a double-take at a picture stuck in the corner of her dresser mirror: the TARDIS! Then he realised it wasn't the TARDIS, but simply some old photo of an actual police box. He decided right then he'd try to coax the new TARDIS into a police box form again. Why mess with perfection?

The only other picture was of Rose holding Tony, mountains in the background. Switzerland, maybe? He was glad she'd gotten away at least once. And that maybe she'd had _some_ fun since she'd been here.

He picked up a book on the nightstand and grinned. _Introduction to Physics_. Oh, brilliant! Rose was teaching herself physics! Positively brilliant! Stupendously brilliant!

He kissed the top of her head.

She murmured and stirred, swallowed a couple of times, and shifted. She peered at him with half-closed eyes, her hair sticking in every direction.

"You are so beautiful, it hurts," he said. "Yes, yes, I know that's cheesy, but this morning I've decided that cheesy is good."

Rose's lips quirked into a sleepy smile. "You're not bad yourself," she said after clearing her throat.

"Ah, cheesy for cheesy, bordering on a cliche! Upping the stakes! Let's see. Hmm. Ooh! 'How _you_ doin'?'"

"Well, that's just dumb." Rose grinned, becoming more awake by the second.

He gave her a pout.

"Morning," she said.

He smiled. "Morning."

"So how are you liking the whole sleeping thing?"

"If it happens after what we did last night, I am _all_ for sleeping. Hooray for sleep! I might even make a flag I can wave! Or...ooh, write a song about it! Or...both!"

Rose smirked. "You do realise that sometimes you'll have to sleep without doing _that_ first, yeah?"

"Not interested."

As she smiled at him, he felt her chuckle more than heard her.

Yup. Down-to-his-toes happy. "Rose?" he said. "I love you."

A sudden flicker across her eyes and her smile faded, which had the immediate effect of clenching at his heart.

"What? Rose, what?"

Her gaze dropped, as if she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Please _please_ talk to me."

"He's still..." was all she could get out.

Oh.

He sighed softly and pulled her closer. If he lived to be 100 in this body, he'd still never know what he did to deserve Rose caring so much about his happiness, wherever he was.

She also sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No. You don't have to be sorry."

"It's strange. It feels a bit like I'm cheating on you with you," Rose admitted.

He brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. "I don't expect you to stop thinking about him. Ever."

"But...?" she prompted.

"No 'buts.' You wouldn't be you if you didn't care."

She seemed slightly sceptical. "You're sure?"

"Yes."

Rose looked positively relieved, and it was then that the Doctor realised how much guilt had been on her mind since they'd gotten here. And while he couldn't erase that guilt, bottling it up would eat away at her.

"If you ever want to talk about it," he quickly added, "just do it. Fifty years from now, I'll still be willing to listen. And if you don't want to talk to me, talk to someone. Anyone. Your Mum."

Rose shook out of her melancholy and became slightly amused. "All this talking about things. Donna really did a number on you, didn't she?"

The Doctor smirked. "I guess she did. But seriously, Rose..."

She kissed him on the cheek and lingered. "Thank you." She put her head back down, letting her fingers run over his chest. "Fifty years from now. I like that."

"Me too."

"You don't have to worry, you know. I know it's you. Really you. Not just someone who looks like you." She looked back up at him. "And I love you. I do. So much."

It was his turn to feel relieved. He kissed her head again.

She smirked. "My problem is I had to go and fall in love with the Doctor. You know what a pain you are? It means loving you no matter what you look like, or have or don't have. Even if you'd regenerated. Although, I've gotta say," she said, propping herself up, "I'd miss this hair. Really, _really_ miss it." She ran her fingers through it.

He closed his eyes with a "Mmmm." Right at this moment she could have asked him to do anything -- _anything_ \-- and he would have done it. "My hair would have missed you too."

Rose giggled. "Goof."

Rose repositioned herself. It was simply no longer enough contact, so he repositioned himself as well. The rain continued to fall outside, which made it seem doubly comfortable under the blankets.

"So..." Rose said after a few minutes.

"The answer is, 'yes, it's completely possible to live the rest of our lives right in this spot.'"

More giggling.

"Just put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door outside and we're set."

"Ah, but one of us would have to get out of bed to put the sign on the door," Rose replied.

"Always knew you were smart."

She tapped against his shoulder. "This sounds sort of like a dumb question, but...what exactly are you going to do?"

"Hold on, I'm currently formulating a pulley system that will take care of the sign thing."

She gave him a light swat. "I mean about, you know, life. Work? A job?"

"Oh, _that_."

"Yeah, that. I hate to have to say it, but you're gonna have to do something. There's always Torchwood."

"I was thinking about trying my hand at an office job, something at a desk, loads of paperwork, chatting at the water cooler on coffee breaks..."

"You're not serious."

He wrinkled his nose at her. "Me at a desk job? Pffft. Actually, I had this idea about travelling about in space and time."

Rose stared at him.

The Doctor blinked at her reaction. "You...you would come with me, right?" Had she gone white-picket-fence domestic on him in the last couple of years?

She frowned. "Are you having some sort of regeneration sickness after all? Doctor, the TARDIS is gone. Remember?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at her, then got out of bed, quickly finding and dressing in new t-shirt and pyjama bottoms. She did the same, the confused look not leaving her face. She followed him out into the kitchen where he stopped and opened the microwave.

Rose stared. "There's a rock in the microwave. Doctor, what's a rock doing in the microwave?"

"Having its particles excited every 24 hours. Defrost setting." The Doctor grinned and tapped his head. "I wish you could feel it. Up here."

"Oh my God, you've lost it, haven't you?"

"Rose, you asked me once if I could build a new TARDIS and I said I couldn't, because TARDISes aren't built, they're grown. Well... Say hello to a new, very much growing, TARDIS."

Her mouth dropped. She stared at him. Then at the coral. Then back at him. Finally back at the coral.

"Seriously? That's going to be a TARDIS? Really?"

"Yup! It's going to be our TARDIS."

"That's...that's...!" He was pretty sure her excitement was mirroring his own at the moment.

"Amazing? Brilliant? Stupendous? Dare I say 'fantastic' even?"

"YES! How long's it gonna take?"

"Would you believe nine months?"

"No way!"

"Way!"

"And we're really going to travel again?"

"We're really going to travel again."

Rose flung her arms around his neck, laughing. "This takes care of all birthday and Christmas presents for the rest of my life!"

He grinned from ear to ear. "Good, because that desk job for some money is really, _really_ out."

She hopped out of his arms. "So nine months, eh? What are we going to do until then?"

"Ooh, I've got the perfect idea!"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, yes!" he said, excitement building in his voice. "It involves something in the bedroom!"

Rose's eyebrows went up. "For nine months?"

"Although considering I'm involved, I'd say it'd take about half that time."

"Hold on... What?"

He grabbed her around the waist, steering her back towards the bedroom. "Rose Tyler, I'm going to teach you physics!"

She tackled him.


End file.
